Container



Jane M 1970 m. E. EARTH ETAL. 3,487,921

CONTAINER Filed Aug. 14, 1968 INVENTORS.

w R058 E. BARTH a JOHN T. VIERS AT TO R NEYS United States Patent O3,487,921 CONTAINER Ross E. Barth, Euclid, and John T. Viers, Macedonia,

Ohio, assignors to Crawford Fitting Company, Solon,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 14, 1968, Ser. No. 752,585 Int.Cl. B65d 85/62 US. Cl. 20665 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thisinvention relates to a container for housing a precision instrument orapparatus of delicate construction. The container has upper and lowerportions and disposed in each portion is shell means which is shaped tosurround the instrument and hold it cushioned in place, immovably spacedfrom the upper and lower portions of the container. The shell may bemolded to any desired shape to encompass any particular instrument.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Packages for instruments of the type withwhich this invention is particularly concerned, quick connect couplings,are intended to cushion the closely machined coupling component in asubstantially fixed position, thus to prevent impact damage,contamination by dust or disengagement of the coupling nut under theinfluence of vibration during shipping. Also, it is desirable that thecontainer be partially transparent to allow a prospective purchaser toobserve the fitting on display and to permit ready inspection of thefitting for inventory purposes. Additionally, it is important that thepackage be designed to be as universally applicable as possible, suchthat it may accommodate quick connect components having any one of anumber of different sized coupling nuts.

The particular combination of features required to meet these parametersis not to be found in the prior art, which contains various kinds ofspecialized packages, particularly packages of a general type which areadapted to contain vials of medicines, delicate instruments such asrelays, stabilizers or surveying equipment, or various vibrationsensitive electron tubes. Thus, a definite need has been met by thisinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a containerfor packaging a coupling component and includes a box having two halveshinged together along one edge. Snap lock latching means are provided onan opposite side or edge of the box for the purpose of locking the twohalves together at desired times.

Disposed within the box are two substantially identical shell means, onein each half, and each of which substantially fills the half in which itlies. Depressions or hollows are formed in each shell means and opposeor face one another when the box is closed so as together to form amulti-chambered recess adapted to hold a coupling component.

A plurality of the chambers are adapted to surround the component ratherclosely and cushion it in place. The third chamber, which is relativelylarger than the others, is adapted to envelop a portion of the componentwhich may, from piece to piece, vary substantially in dimension. The boxincludes at least one half which is transparent, and the shell meansdisposed in that half is of similar properties. This construction isintended to permit one to observe the coupling component on display and,for inventory purposes particularly to ascertain its size and characterwithout the necessity for unpackaging the component.

Patented Jan. 6, 1970 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container whichincorporates the principles of this invention and having a couplingcomponent received therein;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partially in section, of the container ofFIG. 1 broken along lines 2-2;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the container as it is about to beclosed, broken along lines 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view similar to FIG. 3, but showing thecontainer closed, and again broken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the container in open position.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT This invention comprises a container for packaginga coupling device and more particularly a quick connect component. Thecontainer includes a box 10 having an upper portion or half 12 and alower portion or half 14. The two portions are hinged together at 16 andthis connection may be accomplished by the use of one or a plurality ofhinges as desired. A satisfactory arrangement, as shown in FIG. 5,incorporates complimentary ball and socket type hinges 13 and 15 at twolocations along adjacent edges of the box portions 12 and 14.

In this respect, each of the substantially identically shaped portions12 and 14 has side walls 18 which project one toward the other when theportions are in closed position, as seen in FIG. 4. Each side wall terminates in an edge 20 which abuts a corresponding seat of the otherportion when the container is closed. As can be seen, the edges 20 oneach portion terminate, in the illustrated embodiment substantiallywithin the same plane, though this need not be the case. Also, while theupper and lower portions are identical in this embodiment, it iscontemplated that the portions 12 and 14 could be of diverse depths.

Disposed within each portion of the box is a shell means 22. The shellmeans serves the function of encompassing the coupling component 24 andof cushioning it tightly in place within the closed container. Inshipping, it is not desirable to permit the component to bounceunrestrainedly since its parts may as a result hecome disassembled ordamaged.

Each shell means 22 substantially fills the portion 12 or 14 in which itis respectively disposed and includes a bracing section 26 and a facingsection 28. Each bracing section 26 comprises semi-rigid legs or wallswhich extend substantially the depth of the portion in which the shellmeans is received. Each leg is disposed in substantially paralleljuxtaposition with a corresponding side wall 18 of the portion in whichthe shell means is carried. The facing section 28 of each shell meansincludes a planar extension 30 which is substantially co-planar withedge 20 of the box portion within which such shell means is disposed.

A depression or hollow 32 is provided substantially in the center ofeach of the planar extensions 30. This hollow 32 comprises multiplechambers in interconnecting relationship as best seen in FIG. 5. In theillustrated form, the several chambers are annular and proportioned suchthat they are of progressively increasing size from smallest chamber 34to intermediate chamber 36 to largest chamber 38.

The smallest chamber 34 is defined by a pair of semicylindrical surfaces35, one provided in each of the shell means 22. These surfaces oppose orface one another when the container is closed, and thus together form acylindrical surface which is adapted to receive the stem of the couplingcomponent in a rather close surrounding relationship.

Turning now to chamber 38 (which is formed by a pair of cooperatingsurfaces 39 in the same manner as previous chambers) it will be notedthat this depression is of a size considerably larger than the couplingnut which it is adapted to receive. To understand the significance ofthis arrangement, one must first recognize that the stern of this typeof coupling component is of uniform dimension throughout a range ofcoupling sizes. This is also true of the section which is intermediatethe stem and the coupling nut of the component. The coupling nut itself,however, will vary in size from component to component depending uponthe diameter of the fluid line with which the particular component isadapted to be used.

Intermediate chamber 36 is much like chamber 34, but somewhat larger. Apair of semi-cylindrical surfaces 37, one in each shell means, cooperateto form with one another a cylindrical chamber 36 which intimatelysurrounds the intermediate section of component 24 when the container isclosed.

By use of the construction described, it is possible to use a singlecontainer for shipping components having any one of a number ofdifferent sized coupling nuts. This plural nut size accommodationfeature produces a universality which permits the'shipper to purchasebut one size container for use with a plurality of different sizedcoupling components of the general type for which the container wasdesigned. The result is a significant saving in terms of money, stockingspace and inventory control.

The shell means 22 as shown is very light in weight and inexpensive tomanufacture. The space between the various bracing sections 26 is shownas being completely void but, for specific applications, a foamedplastic of some sort could be deposited in the void for additionalstrength. However, this would add to the cost, and unless a heavycomponent is to be shipped, the shell means illustrated will ordinarilybe adequate. By constructing the chamber 38 such that it measures up toapproximately greater in span than chamber 36, adequate clearance for aplurality of nut sizes will be available.

The fact that at least one of the box portions (as well as itscorresponding shell means) is transparent produces an importantadvantage because this allows the seller of the coupling component toplace the component on display without additional operations and thisresults in a relatively significant saving in labor cost. Moreover, thisfeature is also important from an inventory control standpoint since thecharacteristics of the component may readily be ascertained without thenecessity of opening the container.

Another significant economy factor in this very competitive field isthat the identical portions of the box allow for identical portions of ashell means 22. In other words, there is no way for the assembler tobecome confused and mismate a specific shell means and box portion. Eachshell means will fit each box portion and this interchange abilityallows for greater speed in assembly.

The latch means 40 (shown best in FIGS. 1 and 5) is illustrated as asnap lock, a pair of complementary locking members being provided, oneon each portion of the box. This is shown merely by way of illustrationand any particular type of latch means found to be convenient may beused.

In order best to hold and cushion the coupling 24 in position within thecontainer, it has been found that chambers 34 and 36 respectively, mustbe made slightly under size relative to the sections of the componentwith which they are to mate. This structure is illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4. In FIG. 4, the planar extensions are shown angled slightlyinward. The fitting component 24, being rigid and slightly larger thanthe chambers 34 and 36, flexes or deforms the shell means 22 and theresult is that shell means 22 resiliently grips the component, exertingthereupon a peripheral tension.

While the principles of the invention have been disclosed in but asingle preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those havingordinary skill in the art that many modifications and changes may bemade in that embodiment without departing from the true spirit of theinvention. It is therefore not intended that the terms used in thespecification nor the single illustrated preferred embodiment beconsidered limiting. Rather, it is intended that the invention belimited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A container for packaging a part comprising:

a box with upper and lower portions, each portion having side wallsterminating in edges, said portions being connected by hinge means;

latch means for locking said portions closed with the edges of oneportion proximate the edges of the other portion; and.

shell means within said portions having bracing sections and facingsections, said bracing sections being juxtaposed substantially parallelto the side walls of said box, said facing sections forming planarextensions and hollows, said hollows substantially conforming to theshape of a part which said container is adapted to receive; each shellmeans substantially filling the portion in which it is received, theplanar extension of each shell means lying substantially in a planepassing through the edge portion it fills, the hollow being dimensionedsmaller than a section of said part whereby the portions encompass thepart under peripheral tension when the container is closed, thussubstantially to prevent movement of the part relative to said portionsand hold it spaced from contact with said box.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein one Portion of said box istransparent and the shell and attendant bracing section disposed in thatportion are also transparent.

3. The con ainer of claim 1 wherein the hollows of the shell meanstogether form multiple connecting chambers.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein one of said multiple chambers isapproximately 25 percent larger than another.

5. The container of claim 4 wherein at least one of said multiplechambers is of annular shape, and further wherein the largest chamber isof a substantially rectangular shape.

6. The container of claim 5 wherein one portion of said box istransparent and the shell means and attendant bracing sections disposedin that portion are also transparent.

7. The container of claim 1 wherein the shell means are each ofsubstantially identical shape.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,993,587 7/1961 "Stone et a1206-45.34 3,040,878 6/1962 De Kolb 20645.34 3,370,697 2/ 1968 Levey etal. 2064S.34

JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner

